Richard Foster on Silence and Hearing God

Over at my personal blog, The Prodigal Thought, I have regularly been posting stirring words from Richard Foster’s classic, Freedom of Simplicity, as I have slowly moved my way through the book. Here are some thoughts of his on practicing silence and how this can help us hear the voice of the Lord:

One way to nurture simplicity is through the discipline of silence. Society is dominated by the inane notion that action is the only reality. Please, for God’s sake and your own, don’t just do something, stand there! Come in and enjoy his presence. Sink down into the light of Christ and become comfortable in that posture. Open the subterranean sanctuary of your soul and listen for the Kol Yahweh, the voice of the Lord. To do so gives us focus, unity, purpose. We discover serenity, unshakableness, firmness of life orientation. (p113)

These are extremely challenging words in the busied and hurried life of today. For some, they might sound New Age, but this is simply about drawing in close to the presence of God’s Spirit who resides within the believer, all to know the Father’s leading voice in our lives.

I, for one, want to quiet my heart before the Lord on a regular, even ongoing, basis.